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This October is shaping up to be a blast! Here are the public performances on the docket-
October 7-8
Mystic Folkways Festival at Mystic Seaport
I'll be hosting a stage from 12:30-4pm where some excellent old time musicians from the region will be jamming old time fiddle tunes, string band blues, swing and more, and there may be some appearances by musicians from the other stages who want to come throw down for a few.
October 13-15 all day and night
Jam Camp North: I'm on teaching staff at this annual event in Charlton, MA, where master Bluegrass, Old Time, Blues, and Celtic musicians from around the country will lead attendees in jams ranging from slow sessions for beginners to full on raging sessions not for the faint of heart.
October 14
Thames River Cruise/New London County Historical Society
Join us for a beautiful fall cruise up the Thames River from new London to Norwich, CT and back on a Block Island ferryboat, while Jerry Bryant, Jeff Davis and I regale you with chanteys, river songs, nineteenth century fiddle tunes, songs from the West Indies trade in the age of sail, ballads, and music from the days when Long island Sound was the highway to New York aboard steamboats and the entry to ocean paths to the wide world aboard sailing ships. (Yes, I got a leave of absence from Jam Camp to do this!)
October 22
First Old Time Jam: Roots Music Stomp at the United Theatre
First in a monthly series I'm hosting, this will showcase an astonishing range of guest musicians expert in styles including Old Time, Blues, Cajun, Irish, and Chanteys. Over the course of two hours you'll get a whirlwind tour of the American Roots Music styles that have shaped American vernacular music. Come prepared to sing, and if you don't want your feet to move bring your lead boots.
...and a preview of November:
November 2-5
Fiddle Hell
I'm teaching nine sessions of fiddle, banjo, and dance band at his immersive teaching camp, held in a big hotel in Westford, MA, that annually draws hundreds of fiddlers from all over the country and teaching staff from all over the world. Pretty much any style of fiddling you've ever heard of is taught by expert players, as well as other instruments, and there are concerts and jamming everywhere. If you're a fiddler or traditional musican, it's really Fiddle Heaven.
I'm also teaching regularly at the United Theatre in Westerly, RI where the Roots Music Stomp takes place- if you'r interested in lessons on fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, button accordion, or ukulele, I have some slots open.
TOUR
Louisiana Field Seminar with the Williams College-Mystic Seaport Maritime Studies Program April 1-5, 2019
The Williams College-Mystic Seaport Maritime Studies program is an interdisciplinary undergraduate semester run by Williams College and based at Mystic Seaport Museum, America's premier maritime history museum. Students take courses in Marine Biology, Maritime History, Oceanography, Literature of the Sea, and Maritime Policy. The extraordinary collections, documents, and historic ships and buildings at Mystic Seaport serve as their waterfront campus, but they also venture out on several field seminars: two weeks at sea aboard a traditional sailing research vessel, and trips to the Pacific Coast and Louisiana.
For several years I've been asked along on the Louisiana field seminar to serve as a "cultural liason," introducing students to Cajun music and dance, meeting (and dancing to the music of) traditional Cajun musicians, and giving a lecture on the history of Louisiana's rich musical culture. Louisiana offers a unique chance to look at the dynamic and complex intersections of geography, environment, resources, culture, policy, and history, and the rich musical tapestry there reflects this background. If you know any college students who are looking for an interesting, challenging and varied experience in a "semester abroad," have them take a look at this cutting-edge interdisciplinary program. It changes people's lives:
https://mystic.williams.edu/
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